4 killed in two road accidents

At least four persons have been killed in two separate road accidents in Khulna and Satkhira in the past 24 hours, police said Saturday.

In Satkhira, two brick kiln workers were killed after a tractor trolley hit them in the Taltola area of Satkhira district town early on Saturday morning, reports UNB. 

The deceased were identified as Maanirul Islam, 40, son of Abdus Samad Kha, and Mohammad Ali, 35, son of Ishraf Ali of Bakchara village in Sadar upazila.

Quoting witnesses, sub-inspector of Sadar Police Station Mehedi said the accident occurred round 5 am when the victims were on their way to a brick kiln.

The two died on the spot, the official said, adding the bodies have been sent to Satkhira Sadar Hosptial morgue for autopsy.

In Khulna city, two men were killed when a truck hit their bike in Arongghata on Friday night. The deceased were identified as Miraz, 28, and Mohamamd Fahad, 26, of Barishal district.

The accident occurred around 11.30 pm when a Ruphsa Bridge-bound truck hit the bike, killing the biker and the pillion rider on the spot, said Rezaul Karim, officer-in-charge of Arongghata Police Station.

The bodies were taken to Khulna Medical College and Hospital.

Road accidents in Bangladesh

Road accidents in Bangladesh continue to claim hundreds of lives every year.

At least 484 people were killed and 673 injured in 427 road accidents in January this year.

According to Road Safety Foundation (RSF) accident rates jumped by 25.58 percent and fatalities by 8.76 percent in January this year compared to the same period last year.

At least 445 lives were lost in 340 road accidents in January 2020, according to RSF.

In a report released in February 2020, the World Bank said that Bangladesh needed to invest an estimated extra $7.8 billion over the next decade to halve its road crash fatalities.

The report attributed the high death rate on Bangladesh’s roads to lack of investments in systemic, targeted, and sustained road safety programmes.